Brooklyn Federal Courthouse gets another anthrax scare

Brooklyn Federal Courthouse gets another anthrax scare

An earlier anthrax scare at the federal courthouse drew more than a dozen NYPD, HazMat and Fire Department vehicles. Photo: Mary Frost

Second scare two weeks

By Charisma L. Miller, Esq.

Brooklyn Daily Eagle

A letter containing a white powdery substance was found in the mail center at the Brooklyn federal courthouse late Wednesday afternoon. The white powder, originally thought to be anthrax, was deemed innocuous, a New York Police Department spokeswoman said.

This is the second scare in the last two weeks for the federal courthouse. Earlier this month, as the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported, more than a dozen NYPD, HazMat and Fire Department vehicles arrived outside the courthouse at 225 Cadman Plaza East after an envelope containing a white, powdery substance was delivered to the U.S. District Court Clerk’s Office within the courthouse.

"The person who sent it was someone with an agenda," U.S. Marshal James Elcik of the U.S. Marshal's Service, Eastern District of New York, said at the time. "We have an indication of who might have done this, and we are following leads."

It is unclear whether the two incidents are related. The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the FBI, and the U.S. Postal Service are investigating both incidents.

The spokesman for the Eastern District U.S. Attorney’s office had no comment.

May 16, 2013 - 1:08pm

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A white powdery substance that had been discovered at the Brooklyn Federal Courthouse at 225 Cadman Plaza on Tuesday afternoon has turned out to be bascially harmless, although further tests are required. … Full Article